Acting Commander
by CommanderLeska
Summary: "We're here to offer you a deal," Emerson spoke to the duo, eyeing both of them. "Clarke." - What happens when Emerson offers the deal to the Sky People, and not the Grounders? Chapter 1 takes part in 2x14. Chapter 2 takes place a year later. Chapter 3 runs right after chapter 2. (Implied Clexa)
1. Blood Must Have Blood

It wasn't meant to go this way, not at all. Clarke was meant to go with Lexa and help take out the shooters, give the word, blow the door, go in, take the Mountain. It was simple. An easy plan, easy to carry out, easy to stick to. But it had all gone so horribly, horribly wrong.

Lexa's sword clattered to the floor as the young commander raised her hands above her head, grip dropping on her weapon. Clarke followed suit, dropping her gun to the floor and raising her hands above her head, looking over to Lexa.

Mountain Men had them surrounded. Aiming guns at the Trikru warriors behind them, the Mountain Men had the two leaders where they wanted them, right in the mouse trap. And Emerson stood before the two of them, hands clasped behind his back, looking at Clarke.

"Her." He pointed at Lexa, without taking his eyes off Clarke, and Clarke watched as two of the Mountain Men kicked the back of Lexa's legs, bringing the commander down to her knees. Clarke gasped and forced herself to stay still, to ignore what was happening, and focus on the man in front of her.

"Clarke of the Sky People." Emerson stepped forward, smiling. Clarke gulped, chancing a look over at Lexa, who was watching the two of them intently, Mountain Men guards with guns guarding her every twitch. "We've been watching you."

"Then you know exactly what I'm capable of." Clarke spat out, lowering her hands down to her side slowly. Her only weapon was down on the ground. And Emerson knew that.

"Yes, quite. We're here to offer you a deal." Emerson spoke to the duo, eyeing both of them. "Clarke." Emerson motioned around the battlefield. "Your people, the Sky People, can go free. All you have to do is leave. In a month, 20 come back to donate bone marrow. Same every month." Clarke swallowed, keeping her glare on the man in front of her, forcing herself not to look at Lexa. "You agree to those terms, and this war with us is over."

"What about the Grounders?" Clarke shot out before she had a chance to stop herself. She briefly wonders what would have happened had LExa been given this deal. Would the commander have asked about the Sky People? Would she have just taken the deal, let her people go, doomed the Sky People? Surely not, Lexa couldn't, wouldn't.

"With the bone marrow from the Sky People we will have no more need for the Grounders." Lexa bristled at his words, the gun at her back halting her movement, forcing her still. "We will, free them." Emerson looked back at Clarke, eyes drawn off the commander. He smiled and tilted his head, watching as Clarke thought it over in her head.

Victory stands on the back of sacrifice.

"15 people a month. You take the least amount of bone marrow you can from each one, humanely. This war ends. You free the Grounders. You stop attacking the Trikru." Clarke spoke, unblinking at the man who held the fate of this war in his hands. Emerson breathed in deeply through his nose, tilting his head up at Clarke, waiting for one of them to break. Eventually, Emerson did.

"You have your deal, Clarke." Emerson swept up Clarke's hand in his own, shaking her hand as they sealed the deal. "Instruct your people to leave." Emerson waved to the ridge that served as a vantage point, and the two walked towards it, looking down at the Sky People and the Grounders, and Clarke spoke.

"Skaikru! A deal has been made." The door opened in front of them, and the Sky People stepped out into the open air, quickly moving towards the others, who were still watching Clarke. "We leave for Camp Jaha immediately." The Sky People turned to leave, clearing out of the area, taking the Sky People from the Mountain with them, leading them back to their camp. Clarke watched as they left, and Lexa joined her on the ridge, guard still behind her.

"You are a good leader Clarke. I will take my people back to Polis. Then I will return, to find you, if that is what you wish." Lexa smiled, and Clarke nodded. She shook hands with the commander, and pulled away.

"Find me." She dropped Lexa's hand, and the commander bowed her head.

"May we meet again." The commander watched as Clarke turned to head down the ridge and back to her people. Back to how it should have been when they landed. No wars, no fights, just her people back, and she could focus on herself. Her and Lexa. Without the threat of the Mountain.

"Fire!" Emerson yelled from behind her, and Clarke turned as a deafening crack of 100 bullets being fired at the same time tore through her eardrums, and she watched as the commander crumpled next to Emerson, falling as dead weight onto the cold, hard ground, the guard stood behind her, gun raised, smoke pouring out of the barrel. All around her and below the ridge, Trikru warriors did the same. Clarke fell to her knees as Mountain Men blocked the way to Emerson and Lexa, and she felt bile rise in her throat.

"We freed them, Clarke. Just like we promised. Remember, uphold your part of the deal, or we kill you all. Take this as a demonstration of what will happen should we see and Sky People in our borders, not on donation day." Emerson waved his hand and two guards stepped forward, helping Clarke up. Her eyes remained on Lexa's unmoving body at Emerson's feet as he gently kicked the commander's ribs, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Escort her out of our borders. Everyone else inside." Emerson ordered, turning away from Clarke and the guards, who were almost fully supporting the 18 year old.

"What about the bodies, Sir?" The guard who had shot Lexa asked, kicking at Lexa's arm as she asked.

"Leave them out here. They say people are good fertiliser. Let's see what grows, shall we?" Emerson and the guard laughed, and headed into the Mountain as Clarke was dragged away, tears freely falling from her face.

"Leksa!"


	2. 1 Year Later

"Come on Heda!" Octavia shouted from ahead, motioning with her hand for the Commander to catch up with her. They were coming close to the borders of Mount Weather, but they weren't Skaikru. The deal was not against them, they weren't breaking the deal. They were Trikru. They were more than that, they were the Commander and the Commander's personal guard of the Trigedakru. And it had been a year since that deal was taken.

"Oktavia, shof op!" Clarke jogged to catch up with Octavia, who was now kneeling down behind a bush, the clearing out in front of them. The graveyard of hundreds of Trikru warriors. And Lexa.

"Well I'm sorry if you're the slowest Commander yet, Clarke." Octavia pulled Clarke down to her level, and the duo watched as the group of 15 Sky People left the Mountain. This was the end of the 12th Donation Day. And they couldn't stand for a 13th. In Lexa's honour. Give closure to the brutally murdered Trikru. Raze the Mountain to the ground.

"Acting Commander." Clarke reminded Octavia as she mapped out the lay of the land with her eyes, left hand gripping the sword by her waist, mirroring Octavia. "I'm only the Commander until they find the child with Lexa's spirit in it."

"It's been a year, Clarke. They found Lexa in a month after the last Commander died." Octavia shook her head, something catching her eye as she continued. "I know you said not to get wound up in silly hope games, but I don't think we know everything that went down after you left."

"I already mourned her, Octavia. Then I took over her post. I had Indra backing me up. I had to. And now I have to take down the Mountain. Love is-"

"-Weakness, I know, you keep saying. But here you are, planning to take out the Mountain once and for all, 'for Lexa'. You're still in love with her." Octavia glanced at the blonde Commander, and her eyes widened. She motioned with her hand for Clarke to say quiet, and pointed over to the right, a little bit from their hiding place. Clarke followed her gaze, gripping her sword tighter.

"Emerson." Clarke whispered, jaw clenched. Octavia put her hand on Clarke's shoulder, holding her friend and leader back, scanning the area.

"Make sure he's alone." Octavia whispered into Clarke's ear, and the blonde nodded, laying low and moving to the next point of cover.

The two girls tracked Emerson into another clearing, where he was focused on the door to what looked like an old bunker. He was so focused, he didn't hear the two of them silently approach him until they were right behind him, Clarke's gun drawn. His movements stilled when he heard the safety click off her gun, and he turned to face them.

"Clarke." Emerson dropped his hands to his side, nodding at the girls in turn. "And Octavia." He looked back at Clarke, tilting his head. "I distinctly remember agreeing to the terms that no Sky People were to come inside our borders."

"We are not Skaikru." Clarke locked her arm in place, levelling the gun at his head. "Ai laik Heda Klark kom Trigedakru. And you're going to come with us." She glared at the man, who was still smiling back at her.

"Heda? The new Commander. Better be careful, could meet the same fate." Emerson smiled at Clarke, and her finger tensed on the trigger. "Although. Maybe she didn't actually meet her fate."

"What?" Clarke and Octavia tensed, left hands dropping to their swords, and Emerson dove to the right, pulling the bunker door open as he did, and suddenly Clarke and Octavia were on the floor, rolling as they fell to the floor. Octavia was the first up, springing to her feet with her sword drawn. Her eyes flicked over to Emerson, who was pressing buttons on a controller. Then she looked over to Clarke, who was rolling a reaper off herself. It took all of two seconds for it to click in Octavia's head. Emerson was controlling the reaper. And Octavia could only go for one. Emerson or the reaper. Stop the problem, or save the target. Her commander. So she dove.

Clarke rolled the reaper off her, slamming her elbow into the reaper's nose. With the brief distraction, Clarke pushed herself off the ground, flipping the positions of her and the reaper, who in turn rolled them again. Clarke raised her head, forehead connecting with nose with a sickening crack as she rolled again, bringing a fist up to bring down onto the reapers head. The reaper growled out and looked up, shaking her hair out of her eyes, and Clarke's fist stopped in midair.

"Lexa?!"

* * *

"The Sky People are gone?" Emerson paced by the door, looking out of the small window to the outside, where they had just come in from. The guard that shot Lexa was stood next to him, watching his boss pace back and forward, waiting for the right moment.

"Snipers are watching right now." Emerson stopped pacing and looked at the guard, Johnston, and nodded.

"Get on the radio with them. I need to know as soon as Clarke's out of viewing range. The Commander won't be out for long. The shock charge will tide her over, but not for long. We need to get her in here and to the cells before she wakes up." Emerson scratched the back of his neck, waiting the word.

"Sir, the snipers report she's gone." Another guard, Stevens, yells from further down the hall. Emerson turns to Johnston and Reeves, taking their guns from their hands.

"Go, now. Get the commander. Take her to the cells upstairs. If she wakes up, knock her out, however you want. I have to go find Cage. He's going to die when he sees this." Emerson smirks and quickly heads off down the halls, leaving the two guards to go outside and grab the unconscious leader.

* * *

Clarke is flipped back over, pinned under the Commander and the world slams back into place. She ignores all the feelings slamming back into her, and grabs the Commander's shoulder blades with her arms and holds her back. Her face is marred with some old and some fresh scars. Blood leaks out of her nose and Clarke knows that's her doing, the break is clearly visible. Before Clarke can gather the energy and will herself to look into her eyes, Octavia's barreling into Lexa, bringing her hard down to the ground with her. Something breaks, Clarke can hear that. And from the way Lexa springs up, she guesses that something was Octavia's something. Clarke and Lexa circle eachother as Octavia scrambles up from the ground, holding her arm with her other arm.

"Lexa?" Octavia breaths out, not believing what she was seeing. Emerson claps as he steps up next to Lexa, small device still in hand. Lexa looks to him and backs down slightly, eyes pinned on Clarke.

"The wonders of shock pellets to the base of the skull. Instant knockout." Emerson laughs again, and Clarke snarls at the man, picturing his death at her hand. Only, her gun is over by the door, and the amount of rolling they did, she's nowhere near it. "The commander here is the greatest reaper we've ever had. So bloodthirsty. I bet she'd have taken any deal we threw at her." Emerson slapped Lexa on the shoulder, pushing her towards Clarke slightly. She drew her sword, and narrowed her eyes at Clarke. "Well? What are you waiting for? Kill her!"

And Lexa swung her sword, and Clarke closed her eyes.

* * *

A fist connected with Lexa's face again, slamming her head to the side. She spat out the blood in her mouth, turning her head back to face Cage. He laughed in joy, slapping Emerson's shoulder.

"You actually did it. I doubted you, Carl. But here she is." Cage kicked at Lexa's leg, tied to the chair like the rest of her limbs. "The great Outsiders Commander."

"What are we going to do with her? Bleed her? Kill her?" Emerson asked Cage, who was stalking around the tied up Grounder. He paused behind her, hands on the back of the chair, and looked Emerson in the eye.

"I'm going to make her a reaper." He smacked the back of her head, laughing.


	3. No Longer Acting

She heard Lexa's sword swing down. She heard it slice through flesh. She didn't feel it.

So she cracked open her eyes, and in front of her, Emerson spluttered, blood rising out of his mouth and spilling from a cut from his shoulder to his hip, and he keeled over, landing on his front in the grass field, his blood dripping down Lexa's sword and onto her hand.

"She killed Emerson…" Octavia gasped, stepping back. Clarke backed up with her, eyeing the Commander's sword, watching each drop of Emerson's blood drip off the end of the sword and stain the grass below. Her gaze rose up from the sword to her hand, white-knuckled and covered in blood. Her gaze flicked to Lexa's face. Scarred. Old and new. And she could only guess that that wasn't the extent of the scarring.

"He tortured her. For a year." She looked into Lexa's eyes, who were focused on the pool of blood soaking into her boot's fabric, still leaking from Emerson. Lexa's focus suddenly switched to her, and she pulled Octavia back as she herself stepped back when the bloodshot eyes looked into hers. Octavia raised her sword by her side, watching Lexa's carefully. Lexa watched Octavia's sword raise too, and changed her grip on her own sword, adjusting her stance.

"O. Put the sword down." Clarke put her hand on Octavia's hand, pushing the weapon down. "She can't see us a threat, she'll attack, and you are not going to attack back. Not with a sword."

"What the hell, Clarke. It's my job to protect you, you're the _Heda_." Octavia glanced at Clarke, and both missed Lexa's eyes narrowing at the word ' _Heda_ '. Had she not stepped in Emerson's blood, neither of the two would have heard Lexa move, and Octavia wouldn't have been able to raise her sword in time to block Lexa's swinging sword from slicing the both of them in two.

"Get your gun!" Octavia shouted at Clarke as she parried Lexa's second swing, pushing the reaper back. Clarke wasted no time, diving away from the fight as the two brunettes grabbed at eachothers wrists, holding them there, swords crashed together, trying to shake the sword out of the others grasp. Both bared their teeth and pushed against the other, held in a tough stalemate. Until the gun went off and Lexa faltered. Clarke had shot her gun into the air behind Lexa, and as she took her focus off Octavia for just a second, the younger girl twisted Lexa's wrist, wrenching the sword out of her grip.

"Get her sword!" Clarke levelled the gun to Lexa's head, safety on, distracting the Commander. Behind them, Octavia grabbed the second sword, holding them both defensibly. Lexa looked between the two, fists clenched, finally eyeing the gun. Clarke gulped, watching Lexa's eyes dilate and focus. She prayed to whoever was listening that Lexa didn't know about the safety switch, didn't know that she couldn't fire at Lexa, no matter what.

But it seemed no-one was listening. Lexa dived at Clarke, hand swiping at the gun before Clarke could use it as so many Mountain Man guards had before, knocking it to the side as she bought Clarke into a tumble, hand at her throat, and vice versa.

"Grab some rope or something!" Clarke shouted hoarsely, gripping at Lexa's neck just as she was doing to her. Her right hand and Lexa's left were to the side of them, Clarke's right hand, with gun, trapped by Lexa's left hand. Clarke rolled Lexa, trapping her for a few seconds before she was flipped again. Black encroached on her vision, and she knew if Octavia didn't hurry up, this wasn't going to end well. Just as she began to cough, rope fell around Lexa's neck and pulled her off Clarke, instantly slacking. Clarke shook her head and jumped up. Octavia, rope in hand, stood behind the coughing reaper, rope hanging loosely around her neck. Wordlessly, Octavia and Clarke grabbed an end of the rope and tied it round Lexa's waist while she coughed. Her arms were secured at her sides, and Octavia tied a knot in the rope behind her back, ignoring the glare from Lexa. Clarke picked up Lexa's sword, since Octavia dropped it, and threaded it through her belt, catching her breath.

"You're gunna have a nice handprint there, _Prisa_." Octavia joked, holding the two ends of the rope, looking at Clarke's neck. Clarke shook her head and headed over, taking one of the ends of the rope from Octavia.

" _Shof op, Oktavia_." Clarke pulled on the rope and Lexa and Octavia started moving back towards the forest.

"What are we going to do with her, Clarke?" Octavia nodded towards Lexa, who was growling very softly as she trudged along. Clarke cast her gaze back to Lexa. Her tattered boots were covered in blood, mostly Emerson's by the freshness, but she had no idea what went on that past year. how she wished she'd have checked the ground outside the Mountain, even for confirmation Lexa was actually dead. The Commander's trousers were ripped and covered in specks of blood, splash damage from Emerson's body being cut in half. The same could be said about her coat. Her face however. The broken nose with blood dripping out of it was her own doing, but the thing that angered her the most was the scars. One that crossed across her eye looked particularly painful and big, and Clarke frowned.

"We'll take her back to mom. We've cured so many reapers. She can do it again." Clarke didn't look at Lexa again for the whole journey.

* * *

" _Heda_ has returned!" The shout came as Clarke and Octavia neared the rebuilt Ton DC, Indra moving out of the camp to greet them. Indra's group had been hiding in the forest, awaiting the signal to attack, when they watched all of their friends and family and fellow warriors get shot down by the Mountain. Silently, they had all returned, seeking refuge in Camp Jaha for some time, before they moved back to Ton DC with the help of some of the Sky People, and they rebuilt the village. It served as a place of both clans, the Skaikru and what was left of the Trikru. Which was not many at all. Indra paused in the treeline when she saw the trio, hand on sword.

" _Leksa_." She breathed out, looking between the three. Clarke and Octavia reached her, and Indra called for two warriors to take Lexa to the cell where the first Sky People met the Commander. "Gently." She growled as they tried to placate the Commander, who was pulling on the ropes.

"Indra. I want a warrior on the fastest horse sent to Camp Jaha right now. Bring back my mother, and tell her we have a reaper she needs to save." Clarke walked with Octavia and Indra to her, Lexa's, tent, taking off her, Lexa's, shoulder pauldron.

"I will go, _Heda_." Indra promised, turning from the duo and shouting orders to the others. Clarke entered the tent and threw the pauldron and cloak onto the war table, taking Lexa's sword out of her belt and dropping it on top of the cloak. She sighed and fell back into her, Lexa's, throne, running a hand through her hair, sweeping it back.

"It's going to be okay, Clarke." Octavia stepped towards Clarke. She had long forgiven Clarke for condeming Ton DC and all the Grounders at the Mountain, becoming her personal guard and the two were best friends.

"Is it?" Clarke asked, looking up at her. "We never checked. We didn't know. Lexa has been alive for a year, and we just left her there! We just assumed she was dead, along with the others, but she wasn't, O! She was alive, she was kicking, and I let Cage do this to her!"

"There was no way you could have ever known Clarke. We have her back now, your mom will heal her, and we- you'll have Lexa back." Octavia smiled, and Clarke opened her mouth to reply when they heard shouting coming from outside, and Clarke shot up, grabbing Lexa's sword and moving out of the tent, Octavia close on her heels. The shouting was coming from the cell, where they arrived just in time to see one of the warriors swing at Lexa, who ducked the swing as concrete dust exploded from the wall where the sword hit it. The warrior, Titus, readied his sword to swing again while Lexa was on the floor wiping at her eyes, when Clarke pressed Lexa's sword into his neck, drawing blood.

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Titus?" Clarke growled, sword still pressed to his neck as Octavia took his sword from him, and two other warriors kept Lexa in the corner. Clarke lead him out of the cells, and back above ground.

"She is weak. Corrupted by the Mountain. I am putting her out of her misery." Titus held his hands up as he was marched across the village.

"You'd do your best to remember that she is your Commander." Clarke nodded and two warriors grabbed Titus and pushed him towards the tree.

"She is no Commander of mine." Titus growled at Clarke, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

" _Heda_. _Leksa_ requires a healer. Titus succeeded in drawing blood." One of the other warriors told her, and Clarke nodded.

"Titus, you attempted to kill the Heda. _Jus drien just daun_." Clarke turned to walk away, whispering to Berth as she passed " _Frag em op_."

"Clarke!" Clarke looked up at her mother's shout, who was being helped down from her horse by Indra, carrying the reper supply kit, a pack Clarke had suggested they make, which included everything they needed to heal a reaper.

"Mom!" Clarke ran over to her mother, grabbing her by the hand and leading her to the cells.

"Clarke, Indra says you have a reaper that needs healing. Quickly." Abby followed her daughters lead, Octavia trailing behind, as they made their way down to the cells.

"Mom, this is very important. More important than any reaper you've healed yet. Sorry O." She cast a glance over her shoulder to Octavia, who shrugged. Clarke opened the gate to the cell and Lexa looked up, baring her teeth again.

"Oh my. The Commander." Abby's eyes widened, and she gasped.

"Mom. You have to save her. _Beja_."

* * *

"So, you are the new _Heda_." Lexa ran her fingers along the throne arm, looking around her tent. Not much had changed. The tent was the same as before, Clarke had hardly changed anything in a year.

"Well, they couldn't find the next Commander. Because your soul hadn't moved on, I guess." Clarke watched from the front of the tent as Lexa walked around, inspecting everything.

"Well, you once told my soul to stay where it was. I was only following orders." Lexa raised an eyebrow, glancing at Clarke, who smiled.

"I guess so." Clarke watched Lexa come to a stop in front of her. Clarke kept her gaze down at their feet, focusing instead on the dried blood on Lexa's boots. "I can't believe you survived all that time." Lexa cupped Clarke's chin and lifted her head by her jaw until she was looking at her for the first time since the forest, and Clarke blinked back tears at the state of Lexa's face. Blinked back tears from the guilt she still felt for the deal she made at the Mountain.

"Life's about more than just surviving, Clarke." Lexa whispered as she bought her lips to Clarke's.

 _Ai don hon yu._

* * *

 _Ai don hon yu -_ I found you


End file.
